BDN Monday Musings – Happy Birthday Coach K, team tidbits

The Duke Blue Devils Men's Basketball team had quite a week where they defeated arch rival North Carolina on Austin Rivers buzzer beater and then came back to defeat Maryland at home. Last week, many fans were expecting doom and gloom but a week later, Duke is tied atop the conference going into an important battle with North Carolina State. Monday Musings also wishes .....

Happy Birthday Mike Krzyzewski

That's right! It's Coach K's birthday and I can only imagine how many fans would like to wish him a great birthday. It's funny how it seems that fans receive the best gift and that is simply having him captain the ship. Duke fans have been very fortunate to have been a part of the on going ride he provides.

Only six regular season games left

It's hard to believe how fast the season has gone by to date and with a mere six games left on the regular season schedule, it's time to slow down and enjoy every second left. Too many times, fans get caught up in recruiting battles and other things that can wait and in the process suddenly realize it is spring and the season past them by. Enjoy the here and now folks for this team is pretty good.

A closer look at the six remaining games

It starts with N.C. State this Thursday and this is a key game in the standings with Duke up just one game over the 7-3 Wolfpack.. Most remember UNC blowing the Pack out and think they're not up to the task of making a run at the upper division teams. But a closer look, will show their losses were to Vanderbilt, Indiana, Stanford, Syracuse, North Carolina, Virginia and the one bad loss to Georgia Tech. All but one of those losses are to respectable teams. The Blue Devils then have two road games with Boston College and Florida State and the game with the Seminoles will almost certainly be critical to both teams quest at being the regular season champion. Duke comes back home to take on Virginia Tech before embarking on their last road game at Wake Forest and end with rival North Carolina in a game that is 18 days away. I think it is fair to say that the Rivers shot will be tucked away this week and their will be focus on the task at hand. And just three home games remaining .... Following Duke Basketball is an everyday thing for many fans, but thinking there are just three games left in Cameron really makes me want to soak it all up. Senior Day for Miles Plumlee is coming as is ESPN Gameday and it'll be the last games for a few Cameron Crazies as well. Enjoy it while you can seniors!

High priase for Tyler Thornton

There are times when a look at the boz score doesn't tell the entire story on a player and that is the case with Tyler Thornton. "He's very mature as a sophomore and very comfortable in his role. He's our toughest kid. He's a Duke basketball player and our former players love Tyler," said Krzyzewski after Duke defeated Maryland 73-55 on Saturday. If you go back and watch the UNC game again, check out how cool, calm and collected Thornton is down the stretch. That's what Krzyzewski is talking about. Thornton is cool under pressure and doesn't normally force plays which are not there.

Duke ranked 4th in the Nation in new Coaches Poll

The Duke Blue Devils jumped five spots in the ESPN Coaches poll which came out about an hour ago. Here is the link. North Carolina fell to 7th while Florida State drops to 21st and Virginia 22nd give the ACC four teams in the poll. Duke is 5th in the A.P. poll flip flopping with Kansas.

Will so and so for Duke enter the NBA Draft

It doesn't matter who you ask on the team nor the year for you will get the same answer. That being the player will look at his options after the season. That's how it works at Duke. Austin and Mason will get a few questions in the coming weeks but the answers will as always be the same. I am not going to speculate either in that despite there being up to 15 games left should Duke reach the finals in New Orleans, a lot can happen between now and then. It's always good to cheer for certain players as if it may be their last games in a Duke uniform but I am in no way dropping one of my infamous cryptic hints here but simply offering a suggestion.

One more time! Get your tickets to the NCAA Tournament in Greensboro now!

I can't give you a 100% guarantee that Duke will play in Greensboro on March 16th and 18th, but I can tell you that it would shock me if they weren't there. Remember, the Tar Heels will be there too in the pod system, so be smart and get your tickets right now before it is too late by going here Ticketmaster Greensboro.